Track and Field Posts Top Finishes on Friday

Mar 31

Klugh, Ricksecker Post ECAC/IC4A QualifiersRALEIGH, N.C. - On a day dominated by mid-distance and distance races at the Raleigh Relays, Liberty's distance runners performed well. Leading the way on Friday were Jennifer Klugh, who notched an ECAC qualifier in the women's 1,500, and David Ricksecker, who hit the IC4A standard in the men's 5K.

Women's Meet RecapKlugh punched her ECAC ticket with a personal-best time of 4:26.75 in the 1,500. As a result, the senior placed eighth in Section I of the event.

Earlier in the day, Betel Yosef just missed her personal-best 1,500-meter clocking. Her time of 4:49.89 garnered an eighth-place finish in Section VIII.

Reigning Big South indoor women's 5K champion Khristina Kanagy ran her first outdoor 5K of the 2012 season Friday morning. She came in fifth in Section III of the event, crossing the line in an outdoor personal-best time of 17:36.99. In the process, Kanagy climbed to No. 5 on the Lady Flames' all-time outdoor 5K list.

Edmonds' personal-best 5K clocking of 14:29.17 placed him 12th in Section II of the event. He became just the 10th Liberty runner ever to run a sub-14:30 5K.

Ricksecker's IC4A qualification was a result of his personal-best 14:30.33 effort and 13th-place finish. He joins Edmonds and MacDonald as IC4A 5K qualifiers, after the other two Flames recorded their qualifying performances during the indoor season.

Kipchirchir competed in Section III of the 5K, earlier in the evening, running a 14:47.59. The redshirt freshman was able to dip below 15:00 for the first time, nabbing a 13th-place finish in his race.

Pedro Carela, a transfer from USF, ran a solid race in his Liberty Flames debut. He clocked 9:32.77 for the steeplechase, finishing 12th in Section I.

Also on the track, freshman Jacob Onifer's personal-best 1,500-meter time of 4:01.26 placed him eighth in Section VII. Kyle Gill ran the fastest 400-meter dash by a Liberty runner during the 2012 outdoor campaign, at 48.69.

David Scouten and Tim Abbott ended up 11th and 12th, respectively, in the men's discus. Scouten threw a personal-best 157-1, with Abbott following closely at 155-11.

Kevin Reddington shared 11th place in Section I of the long jump, after reaching a season-best distance of 22-5.75.

Liberty will be represented at both the Texas Relays and Raleigh Relays on Saturday. Scouten will be the first Flame to compete, throwing the hammer at the Raleigh Relays at 10 a.m. At the Texas Relays, Mychelle Cumings will get things started in Section B of the women's discus at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Veatch Wins 10th Career Hammer Throw Title at WinthropROCK HILL, S.C. - Radford's Aimee Veatch (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) won her 10th career hammer throw title, Caroline Ratterree (Falcon, Colo./Northeastern JUCO) took first in the 10,000m and three other Highlanders advanced to the finals by way of first-place qualifying Friday afternoon in track and field action at the Winthrop Invitational.

Veatch out-threw the runner-up by more than 2.00m with her distance of 53.50m / 175-06 in the women's hammer throw. It was her first title this outdoor season and 10th career victory.

Ratterree comfortably finished in first place in the 10,000m with her time of 38:26.94. The next closest competitor crossed 46 seconds later.

In the women's 100m dash prelims, Lakei Crews (Altavista, Va./Altavista Combined) and Kayla Christian (New Kent County, Va./New Kent) crossed the line in first and second place, respectively. Crews cracked the Radford Top-10 (9th all-time) with a personal-best 12.19 while Christian clocked a 12.22, also a personal-best time. Christian returned in the long jump and tied her personal-best mark set a meet ago with a 5.43m / 17-09.75 and finished third.

On the men's side in the 100m dash, Allen Dooms (Charlottesville, Va./Charlottesville) took top honors in the prelims with a 10.81. Ronquis Posey (Lawrenceville, Va./Brunswick) also finished fourth with a 10.92 and will compete in Saturday's finals.

The other top qualifier for Radford was Kaise White (Houston, Texas/Freedom). White posted a 48.18 in the 400m and will be the athlete to beat in the finals. Tehquin Warrick (Hampton, Va./Phoebus) was just behind White in second place with a 48.42. Grant Mitchell (Radford, Va./Radford) also paved his way to Saturday's finish in the same event with a PR of 50.52.

In the men's 200m, Warrick placed second with a 22.16 and Posey finished in 22.53. Each will run in the finals tomorrow.

In their first 100m hurdles event this outdoor season, Courtni Pannell (Newport News, Va./Bethel) and Amber Church (Dublin, Va./Pulaski) each qualified for the finals. Pannell clocked a 14.61 and Church posted a 15.14 preliminary time.

Ryan Farnan (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) and Sam Keltner (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) finished second and third in the 10,000m with times of 32:16.79 and 33:04.14, respectively. Both times were personal-bests and Farnan's finish was the fourth fastest time in program history and Keltner's tied for 10th all-time at Radford.

Men's Meet RecapLiberty's 4 x 100 time of 40.71 placed the Flames 11th out of 31 teams during Friday's preliminary round, just two spots away from qualifying for Saturday's final. Spruel, Robbins, Williams and Settje now rank as the sixth-fastest 4 x 100 grouping in program history.

No Liberty 4 x 100 relay unit had run that fast since Grover Gaddy, Mike Decker, Guifaly Christolin and Jeremy Wagner raced to a winning time of 40.46 seconds at the 2001 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Leadoff runner Spruel was also one of several Liberty individuals to post season or personal-best times on Friday. His 10.87 effort in the men's 100-meter dash prelims marked a season best for the junior.

Freshman Kyle Wheeler made a successful return to his home state of Texas, making a third-attempt high jump clearance at 6-11.75. The top performance of his young collegiate career placed Wheeler fourth in the "B" section of the event. Additionally, he now ranks No. 5 on the Flames' all-time outdoor men's high jump performance list.

Women's Meet RecapOn the women's side, freshman Meme Layne helped the Lady Flames get their day off to a strong start, running both the 100-meter dash and 4 x 100 relay Friday morning. In the 100, Layne's time of 11.91 set a new personal best and ranks No. 6 in program history.

Just before that, Layne had anchored Liberty's 4 x 100 relay squad, which also featured Sherri Spruel, Abigail Flower and Olivia Charnuski. The team finished in 46.37 seconds, placing 15th of 47 teams in the preliminary round.

Charnuski raced to a season-best time of 14.16 seconds in the women's 100 hurdles prelims. Mia Aghaji also recorded a season-best effort on Friday. Her 40-5 mark in the triple jump placed 12th in the "A" section.

Liberty will be represented at both the Texas Relays and Raleigh Relays on Saturday. David Scouten will be the first Flame to compete, throwing the hammer at the Raleigh Relays at 10 a.m. At the Texas Relays, Mychelle Cumings will get things started in Section B of the women's discus at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Lady Bucs Record Season-Best Marks at UNF Invite JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A multitude of Buccaneers recorded season-best marks as the CSU women's track and field team competed in the Best Western/University of North Florida Invitational, hosted by the Ospreys on Friday afternoon in Jacksonville.

Daisy Whitaker posted a throw of 45.43 meters to take 16th place in the hammer throw, while teammate Tenasia White was 23rd with a toss of 41.93 meters. Talei Tagavakatini recorded a season-best throw of 39.62 for 28th place, finishing one spot ahead of Joshlyn Noga who grabbed the 29th spot with a season-best 38.66 meters.

In the long jump, Deona Jones claimed the Bucs' highest finish by taking sixth place with a distance of 5.61 meters. Sequoya Casey was right behind her, finishing eighth with a season-best 5.60-meter jump. Tamisha Foster took 38th place for the Bucs with a jump of 4.91 meters to round things out for CSU in the event.

Noga picked up an eight place finish in the shot put, recording a season-best by .01 meters with a throw of 12.79. Tagivakatini and Whitaker took 12th and 13th place, respectively. Tagivakatini finished with a season-best throw of 11.90-meters while Whitaker finished with a distance of 11.82-meters on her toss. Katelyn Brummett (19th place) recorded a mark of 9.89 meters while Heaven-Lee Tunavasa took 21st place with a throw of 8.57 meters.

Freshman Mulern Jean continued her success, taking third in the 100-meter hurdle preliminaries with a program-record time of 13.86 to earn a spot in the finals as one of just three runners to break the 14.00 mark. Jasmine King also produced a season-best time of 14.61 to take 14th place and also earn a spot in the finals. Rashida Dooling also made improvements, running a 14.87 to finish 22nd while Kerona Parnell placed 35th with a time of 15.96.

The women's success continued into the preliminaries for the 100-meter dash where Gabrielle Houston also picked up a third-place finish. Houston ran an 11.72 to earn a spot in the finals, where she will be joined by teammate Brittney Greer. Greer ran a season-best 12.07 to finish 14th.

Eloisa Paredes was CSU's lone competitor in the 1,500-meter run, taking 31st overall with a time of 4:59.70. A quartet of Bucs ran the 5,000-meter run, led by Adrienne Cuff's eighth place finish. Cuff recorded a time of 19:11.40. Heidi Dean placed 18th, crossing the line in 20:10.93 and was followed by Hannah Burkholder in 21st place with a time of 20:45.15. Mary Davidson was right behind her, taking 22nd with a time of 20:56.04.

The Buccaneers will be back in action tomorrow morning, starting at 11 a.m. with the women's high jump.

Chants Turn In Record Book Altering Performances on FridayJACKSONVILLE, Fla./RALEIGH, N.C. - The Coastal Carolina men's and women's track and field teams notched numerous top finishes as student-athletes competed in both the Raleigh Relays and North Florida Invitational on Friday.

Raleigh RelaysCoastal Carolina distance specialists Kyle Kling, Letitia Saayman, and Emily Marchini competed in the 10,000m run at the Raleigh Relays on Friday evening. The race was the first of the 10,000m variety for each this season and the first in the young career of Saayman.

Kling finished with an impressive showing as he crossed the finish line in 31:37.54 to place 22nd overall. The senior, who is steadily making his return from an injury that sidelined him for the cross country season, now holds the third best time in the Big South this season.

Saayman, known for her superb distance performance this season, placed 12th in the 48-athlete field. The freshman's time of 36:21.70 is tops in the Big South this season and ranks fourth in the CCU annuals. Marchini crossed the line in personal-record setting 37:54.83 to place 27th overall.

North Florida Invitational

ThrowsFreshman Ryan Minor continued his excellent rookie campaign as he placed fifth with a personal and Chanticleer season-best mark of 52.44m (172-00). Minor's mark ranks as the ninth-best in Coastal history. Tyler Swanson and Cameron Griggs also turned in top 10 worthy performance. Swanson threw for a distance of 48.87m (159-11) to finish eighth followed by Griggs with a heave of 48.74m (159-11) to place 10th. Swanson's mark was his best of the season.

Anjulia Nicholson tied for seventh in the women's hammer with a toss of 47.99m (157-05) to take Coastal's top placing in the event. Nicholson was closely followed by senior Brittany Connor with a 10th-place throw of 47.22m (154-11). Naomi Atkins also competed in the event, finishing with a distance of 43.47m (142-07).

Griggs, a sophomore from Ruby, S.C., took home fifth in the shot put with a season-best distance of 15.06m (49-05.00). Minor and Swanson immediately followed Griggs as the pair placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Minor's best put of the day came on his final attempt as he placed the implement 14.22m (46-08.00) down range. Swanson threw for a distance of 14.13m (46-04.25).

The 22-competitor women's shot put field saw Atkins lead the charge for the Chants with a 10th-place finish. Atkins opened the event with her best throw of the day to the tune of 12.36m (40-06.75).

The day's throwing event concluded with Griggs earning his best finish of the day with a toss of 46.45m (152-05) in the discus. Griggs' throw, which earned him fourth-place finish, was his second best of the season. Hot on Griggs' heels was Swanson with a fifth-place finish of 45.93m (150-08). Minor rounded out the Coastal contingent with a heave of 39.75m (130-05) to place 10th overall.

JumpsMary Lawrence, Coastal's lone pole vaulter competing on the day, turned in the best performance of her career on her way to a fourth place finish. After passing twice on opening heights and clearing 3.50m on her initial attempt, the senior cleared a personal and Chanticleer season-best height of 3.65m (11-11.75) on her second attempt.

Kierra Gabe finished tops in her flight with a distance of 5.48m (17-11.75) on her way to a 14th-place overall finish in the long jump. The event marked Gabe's season long jump debut. Also competing for the Chants in the event were Erica Peake (5.46m (17-11.00)), Caitlin Baker (4.98m (16-04.25)) and Anna Carnegie (4.52m (14-10.00)).

Senior Burton Jones II competed in the long jump for the men on Friday. Jones II came away with an eight-place finish as he let for a distance of 6.66m (21-10.25).

HurdlesThree Chanticleers qualified for the finals of the women's 100m hurdles. Sophomore Ashley Davis led the way as she won her heat with a time of 14.18. Davis' time was good for seventh fastest in the 41-athlete field. Also qualifying for Saturday's finals were Christina Davis (14.59) and Camille Hurley (14.73).

In the 110m hurdles four athlete wearing the black and teal of Coastal Carolina advanced to Saturday's finals. Tre'von Gee paced the Chants as he stopped the clock in 14.99 to place 11th overall in the preliminary round. Gee's teammates were all with .18 second behind as Russel Kanner (15.08), Shane Norris (15.12) and Carrington Fernandors (15.17) ran the 13th, 14th and 15th fastest clips of the day.

SprintsCoastal advanced a pair of women to the finals of the 100m. This time it was veteran Erica Peak pacing the Chants as she won her heat in a personal-record time of 11.71, defeating her closest challenger by .14 second. Peak's mark was the second quickest of the day and ranks third on the Chanticleers' all-time list. Gabrielle Lee also advanced to the finals with a time of 12.10, which placed her second in her heat.

Senior Corey Jameson turned it up a notch in his 100m qualifying effort as he claimed victory in the first heat of the day with a lazing time of 10.66. Jameson's time was the seventh best of the day and a mere .11 second off the CCU school record. Fellow Chants Tyler Askew (10.76), Ronnie Jackson (10.80), Nicholas Parks (10.82) and Joseph Wilson (10.85) refused to be upstaged by the senior as each earned a spot in the final alongside Jameson.

Mid-Distance/DistanceJoseph Keitt, a freshman, placed 10th overall in the 1,500m. Keitt won his section of the event with a time of 4:02.82. Tyler Cummings was close behind, stopping the clock in 4:04.69 to place 12th. Sophomore Cameron Wells (4:05.65) and newcomer Evan Niciphor (4:10.68) also toed the line in the event.

Senior standout Christian Johnson took to the track for her first 1,500m event of the season and didn't disappoint as she finished 11th in the 41-competitor field with a time of 4:34.50. Sophie Perry, a freshman, finished four places behind Johnson with a time of 4:36.65. Shelby Nicosia (4:40.14) and Seanna Kautz (5:10.39) rounded out the Coastal finishers in the event.

Jessica Dennison was the lone Coastal representative in the women's 5,000m. The junior finished second in the first section of the race and 19th overall with a time of 8:26.01.

Collins Sets School 100 Meter Hurdles Record Friday at Raleigh RelaysRALEIGH, N.C.-Campbell sophomore Mariah Collins broke the school 100 meter hurdles record on day one of competition at the NC State Raleigh Relays at the Derr Track Complex.

Collins, a Kathleen, Ga. native, posted a preliminary time of 14.66 on Friday, to qualify 14th. Collins also broke the school record in her last outing, recording a 14.67 at the Coastal Carolina Shamrock Invitational.

Freshman Lynette Akai also recorded the third fastest women's 400 meter dash in school history with a time of 56.41, finishing 22nd on the day.

Ashley Matthews, meanwhile, won section IV of the women's 5,000 meter run, collecting a personal record time of 17:55.02. Teammate Cynthia Navarro also took 13th in section III of the event with a time of 17:56.58.

Samantha Robbins placed ninth in the women's 1,500 meters, clocking a personal best time of 4:43.10.

On the men's side, sophomore Morgan Timiney won section IV of the men's 1,500 meters with a personal best 3:53.28, followed by teammate Eric Baldwin in sixth with a 3:56.82, also a personal record. Campbell also took the top spot in section III of the 1,500 meters, with Christopher Schulist collecting a win on a personal record 3:50.11.

DeLohnni Nicol-Samuel picked up a runner-up finish in the men's 5,000 meters with a personal record 14:57.49. The mark is the seventh fastest men's 5,000 meter time in CU outdoor track history.

Tyler Long moved on to day two in the men's 100 meter dash with a 10.78, qualifying 13th, while Jayshawn Campbell finished 19th overall in the men's 400 meters, winning his section with a time of 48.20.

Evan Darm and James Endsley both placed 20th in the men's 10,000 meters and discus, respectively. Darm notched a personal best time of 31:35.15 while Endsley registered a 49.99 meter toss.

Day two action of the NC State Raleigh Relays will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the men's 3,000 meters. Next up for the Camels will be the Florida Relays on April 6-7.

Top Three Finishes Highlight CSU Performance at UNF InvitationalJACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A number of top-three finishes by the Buccaneers highlighted a strong day of competition at the Best Western/University of North Florida Invite, hosted by the Ospreys in Jacksonville on Friday.

Javon Young and Rozzie Johnson finished back-to-back in the 100-meter dash preliminaries, taking second and third to earn spots in the finals. Young finished second with a season-best of 10.35 while Johnson was a close third, also running a season-best 10.50.

Michael Marshburn picked up a first place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:43.05 while Tyree Hines took 19th in the 1,500-meter event with a season-best 4:05.91 as CSU's lone competitor in the event.

Braxton Drummond took home second place in the long jump, recording a mark of 7.36 meters. Teammate Richie German placed ninth in the shot put, recording a throw of 13.23 meters. He would later take ninth in the hammer throw as well with a toss of 48.87 meters. Also in the field events, Richard Landford placed seventh with a throw of 43.54 meters for a season-best mark.

The Bucs will head back to the track for round two tomorrow morning starting at 11 a.m.

Moye's School Record Leads VMI at RichmondRICHMOND, Va. - Jenna Moye improved her school record in the 1,500-meters, leading VMI track and field during Friday's action at the Fred Hardy Invitational, hosted by the University of Richmond at the Spiders' Robins Stadium.

Moye clocked in at 4:37.57, finishing sixth and notching the fastest 1,500-meter effort by a VMI woman by some six seconds, besting her own mark set at last year's Big South Championships. She was joined in the race by a handful of her teammates, the top finishing of whom was Emily Dinning, who recorded a lifetime best of 4:46.56 to place 11th.

On the men's side, the 1,500 was also kind to the Keydets, as a handful of runners were led by Dean Gonsalves, who notched a lifetime best of his own, finishing 11th in 3:59.06. Andrey Dmitriev led the remainder of the VMI contingent, placing 14th in 4:01.09.

The VMI women's throwers also found success, as Mary Grace Lemon led the way with a fourth-place finish in the hammer, recording an effort of 47.63 meters (156'3"), while Renee Reives was seventh in the shot, hurling the implement 12.56 meters (41'2 ½").

Finally, Jennifer Sing followed up on her Big South Field Athlete of the Week-winning effort by tying for fourth, clearing the bar at 3.55 meters (11'7 ¾") a week after her 13'3 ½ (4.05 M) effort, the second-highest jump in Big South history. In addition, Ademola Titcombe was fifth in the triple jump, posting a leap of 14.19 meters (46'6 ¾").

VMI track and field will return to action Saturday, taking part in the final day of the Fred Hardy Invitational. Action will get underway at 9 a.m.

Smith Places 10th in Hammer at Texas RelaysAUSTIN, Texas - Liberty redshirt junior Ryan Smith finished 10th in the men's hammer competition, highlighting a very light Thursday of action for the Flames at the Texas Relays. Melinda Bendik was the only other Liberty athlete to compete at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the day, placing 11th in the women's hammer.

Smith's best throw was his second attempt, which landed at 188-9. That was just 11 inches shy of his personal-best mark and only one centimeter away from qualifying for three more throws.

Earlier in the day, Bendik had taken 11th place in a very competitive women's hammer field, thanks to a mark of 184-10. Her competitors included nine of the top 12 hammer throwers in the nation, entering the weekend. Bendik finished just ahead of LSU senior Brieanna Kennedy, who is ranked No. 6 nationally in the event.

Liberty will have athletes competing in both the Texas Relays and Raleigh Relays on Friday. The quartet of Sherri Spruel, Abigail Flower, Olivia Charnuski and Meme Layne will get the Lady Flames' day in Texas started, running the 4 x 100 relay at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, Alyssa Allen will be the first Liberty athlete to compete in Raleigh, when she lines up for the 5K at 9:45 a.m.